Fred's camp hut
The day dawned beautifully
I enjoyed the pleasant wander back across to Freshwater, packed up the packraft and quietly mooched my way down the river... UNTIL... A hiss of air and a seal on steroids - longer than my packraft and HUGE - with a large set of teeth appeared 2m away just behind my right shoulder!!! I had heard of sea lions but this was my first encounter and I was scared. He/she shepparded me down the last km of the freshwater occasionally disappearing then frightening the bejesus out of me as he/she surfaced, blew out and gazed at me with that huge black eye and just stayed even with me again. I felt very vulnerable and just kept paddling evenly as close to the bank as I could. In hindsight I wish I had been brave enough to stop paddling and take pictures but I was paranoid that I was being eyed up for dinner! As I approached the river mouth he/she left me alone, thank goodness.
The paddle across to Fred's camp was not too far and I relaxed enough to take this shot of birds, just because
